The Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson, has cautioned that Ghana’s currency could come under renewed pressure if structural weaknesses—particularly the country’s inability to retain export earnings—are not addressed.

He warned that the cedi’s recent appreciation should not be seen as a lasting turnaround, given persistent underlying challenges.

Speaking at a Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG) dialogue themed “Ananse Stories about the Ghanaian economy,” Mr. Jackson said the core issue is not a shortage of foreign exchange, but the outflow of export earnings through profit repatriation and service agreements.

“We don’t have a dollar problem. We have a retention of our export problem,” he stated.

“If you take the leakages from the gold sector alone, it overwhelms the total trade surplus in 2024,” he said.

Mr. Jackson noted that Ghana retains less than half of the value generated in key export sectors such as gold and oil, leaving the economy exposed despite strong export perform

“In those two particular sectors, we are retaining less than 50 percent,” he said.

He cautioned that without addressing these structural leakages, increased exports will not guarantee sustained currency stability.

“We will see that we are growing, we’ve got oil, we’ve got lithium, we are exporting bauxite, but nothing has changed,” he warned.

Mr. Jackson stressed that the cedi’s current gains could reverse if these issues persist.“This is a time when we’re all smiling because the cedi is appreciating. But as sure as night follows day, if we don’t fix these structural problems, we’ll be back where we started,” he said.

Credit/citinews